A Shoulder to Lean on
by IoaleKelina
Summary: Dedicated to You-Can't-Catch-Me. Since young age, Dorothy suffers from being a bully victim which is the cause of her low self-confidence. But one day, two people came into her life and raised her up again, giving her hope and a reason to keep living.


**Hi there, Kelina Dawn Hearan here with a new oneshot. This oneshot is dedicated to the awesome You-Can't-Catch-Me as a birthday present. Why is she so awesome? That's easy! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here typing away! Yeah, she encouraged me to make a fanfiction net account when I wasn't very confident ^-^" **

**So give a big clap to the awesome You-Can't-Catch-Me!**

**I know that it's a little too late now… but Happy belated birthday! And thanks for being such a good friend!**

**Thanks for the shoulder to lean on…**

**For the kind and encouraging words…**

**I thank you from the depths of my heart.**

**A Shoulder to Lean on**

Dorothy had always been a shy girl. She hardly talks to anyone, she hardly smiles or laughs, and she hardly shows her face to anyone.

Most people think of her as a freak, thus making her lose all her self-confidence…

It isn't her fault. The memories of her childhood still continue to haunt her in her dreams…

But there's always an ending to nightmares…

That's when the two people that are the closest friends to her raised her up…

Flashback 

When she was younger, Dorothy didn't wear a hood, or have an extremely long fringe to cover her face. Her fringe was just low enough to be able to cover a little of her eyes. She always has Fern around her, but she doesn't cling on to her for dear life. No, she can even leave Fern unattended for hours.

"Hey look!" sneered a young boy when he saw a young Dorothy coming up to them. "The priest's daughter is here."

All the children who were playing stopped and glared at Dorothy as she approached. She felt a little self-conscious when the boy mentioned about her and brushed a few locks of hair to cover her face. "I have a name you know, it's Dorothy," she said. After a while, they ignored her and continued doing whatever they were doing before she came.

It's already like this when Dorothy first came to the village. Strangely, all the children dislike her and said that she's a freak. Dorothy was kind enough to tolerate them, but she always feel sad whenever they make fun of her or make her feel like an outcast.

Feeling left out, Dorothy went over to a group of children who were playing with a ball and politely gave a small cough to get their attention. "Excuse me, can I play with you?"

Almost immediately, the children shook their heads as if they've rehearsed for this moment. "No, now go away," they said as they continued playing.

Looking around, Dorothy noticed a few girls playing with their dolls. Smiling, she picked Fern up and went over to them. "Hi, can I play with you?"

The girls looked at her weirdly and asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "Why?"

"Because I have a doll too," said Dorothy as she held Fern out to show them. "This is Fern." Unfortunately, their response only made her disappointed. "Eww… you call that a doll? That thing is the ugliest thing I ever saw in the world!" Then, they went somewhere else to play with their dolls.

Feeling disappointed, Dorothy trudged over to a small group of children playing hopscotch. Dorothy watched in excitement as the children jumped from one box to another. She wanted to join in, but she was afraid that they'll reject her like the other children. "Hello, do you need an extra person?" she asked politely.

The children just shook their heads. One of the boys went over to her and told her coolly. "We've already have 5, and we want it even number," he said.

_Wait, isn't 5 an odd number? _Dorothy thought. _They must need another person to make it even,_

"5 isn't an even number," said Dorothy. "If you want, I can join you to make it even number."

Just then, one of the children threw the ball too far and it landed near Dorothy. She picked it up and brushed the dirt off the ball, then, she held out the ball to them. "I got it! Should I throw it to you?" she asked before the children snatched the ball away from her hands and ran off to play somewhere else.

"The priest's daughter is such a jerk…" mumbled the children.

Tears began to pool in Dorothy's pink eyes. _Why do they always call me 'the priest's daughter'? I have a name, _Dorothy thought as she brushed away a few tears. _Why do they think that I'm a freak? Is it because I'm the only one in town who has pink eyes? Why do they dislike playing with me? Why do they hate my eyes? Why do I have pink eyes? _Dorothy continued to ask herself these questions over and over again, but her head is only full of 'whys'.

Sadly, Dorothy went over to the swings and began to swing. Slowly, she calmed herself down felt more content.

Suddenly, she felt someone push her from behind. She fell onto the ground, getting a few abrasions on her arms and legs. With tears in her eyes, she looked up to see a few children looking down at her and laughing at her.

"Aww… look," said a boy with a smirk on his face. "The little priest's daughter is crying. What a crybaby." After the last word, he spitted at the poor fallen girl. Soon, everyone else began to jeer and laugh at her; some of them even threw stones and dirt at her.

Dorothy kept crying. For years, she had endured how the children bullied and tortured her. With tears in her eyes, she ran off, trying to run away from the children.

As Dorothy sat on the bench crying, she felt someone tapping her shoulder. She looked up to see two girls. One of the girls was dressed in all sorts of frills and laces while the other was dressed in an expensive looking dress and she wore a tie with a family emblem on it. The first girl had silver hair, ribbons and flowers adorned her hair. The second girl had blue hair with something looking like a bunch of pink strings on her head. Even though Dorothy is curious, she's too well-mannered to ask about it.

"Hi there," said the first girl. When she saw Dorothy's eyes, slightly red from crying, she frowned. "Had you been crying?" Dorothy could only give a small nod in reply.

"Don't worry," said the second girl. "I think that they're all very mean. I'm Rosalind, by the way, Rosalind de Saint Coquille. I just moved here with my family this morning. We live in that new mansion," said Rosalind as she pointed to a huge mansion.

"I used to live in the same town as Rosalind," said the first girl. "My name is Julia. My family and Rosalind's family are very close. That's the reason why we moved here too. What's your name?"

Dorothy looked up at Rosalind and Julia. They both seemed very nice and Dorothy felt like she could trust them. "My name is Dorothy," she said.

"Dorothy? That's a really nice name," commented Rosalind.

Feeling self-conscious, Dorothy flushed a deep crimson red. She wasn't used to people complementing her, hardly anyone did.

"Do you want to play with us?" asked Julia. "We can go over to Rosalind's mansion and play with her dolls."

Immediately, Dorothy nodded and went over to pick Fern up. "Okay, will your parents mind?"

"No, not at all," replied Rosalind as she and Julia led Dorothy over to her mansion.

Flashback Over

Very quickly, Rosalind, Julia and Dorothy became the best of friends. This made Dorothy very happy. Rosalind and Julia will stand up for their friend whenever she becomes a victim of bullying. They shared secrets with each other and played with each other.

It seems that nothing could separate the trio, or maybe not…

Their happiness was short-lived when a plague broke out in the small town they lived in, killing many residents, including Julia's parents, leaving Julia as an orphan.

After the death of her parents, Julia hardly smiles, she hardly laughs and she hardly talks to anyone. She just spends her time staring at the lake by the town, playing with the water as if it's her only friend.

Herman, being the kind person he is took Julia in to stay at his mansion. But when Rosalind's mother caught the plague and passed away, he decides to move to somewhere else.

This was sad news to Dorothy. The only two friends she had left, leaving her alone in the town without friends and becoming a victim of bullying again.

Sadly, a few months after Rosalind and Julia left, Dorothy's mother caught the plague too and passed away. This was a traumatic experience for Dorothy, thus making her change emotionally.

Gordon finally made the decision to leave the town and move to a little port town called Alvarna after Dorothy's emotional change. He also didn't want Dorothy and her baby sister Cammy to catch the plague. When he told Dorothy, she was relieved and wished that the day would come sooner.

Finally the day came for Dorothy to move. She was so glad to leave the place where she was hated and bullied.

Flashback

"Dorothy, do you want to go for a walk with me and Cammy? It should be fun to look around our new neighborhood," said Gordon, carrying Cammy in his arms. Dorothy, who was sitting at the corner talking to Fern looked up and shook her head.

"Come on Dorothy," coaxed Gordon. "You never go for a look around town. I've seen a lot of kids, and I think that they should be quite nice."

Dorothy looked up and said softly. "No one was ever nice to me…"

"I know Dorothy, but you need to get to know our new neighborhood," said Gordon as he slowly walked toward the chapel doors. "Well, if you don't want to, I won't force you."

Looking at her father and her sister leaving, Dorothy quickly ran up to them. "Don't leave me alone!"

Smiling, Gordon walked out of the chapel and went around town with Dorothy hugging him the whole time.

They went to the house next door, which was the mayor's house and met the mayor and his son. "Good day, I'm Mayor Byron. It's nice to meet you. And this is my son Barrett. Barrett, say hi."

Barrett looked at Dorothy and blushed. Then, he looked away and said a silent 'hi'. In return, Dorothy gave him a quiet greeting.

After staying at the mayor's house for a while, Gordon excused them and led Dorothy out and to the next house which was a mansion. "See Dorothy, Mayor Byron and Barrett weren't that bad right?"

"They were… pretty nice…" said Dorothy shyly as they knocked on the huge doors of mansion. Soon, a young boy opened it and gasped in shock. "Dorothy? What are you doing here?"

Shocked, all Dorothy could stammer was the boy's name. "M-Max?"

Immediately, Max began to yell. "Rosalind! Julia! It's Dorothy! Dorothy's here!" Then, there were sounds of footsteps and Dorothy's old friends showed up. "Dorothy!" they cried in unison as they gave her a big hug.

Crying tears of happiness, Dorothy returned their hug. Even though her old memories and scars will continue to haunt her, she felt happy to have friends who will stand up for her.

Flashback Over

When Dorothy was reading a medical book in the living room, her 5 year old son Leonel came in. He was covered with bruises and scratches and he was whimpering softly.

"Mom, I got bullied by Orland again…" he complained as he went over to hug his mother. "Mom, it's not fair. Orland always bullies me! He always calls me a girl! I'm a boy!"

As Dorothy gently rocked Leonel on her lap to calm him down, a knock was heard at the door. "Come in," said Dorothy as Leann and the twins Serena and Sera came in.

"Are you okay Leonel?" asked Leann in concern.

"Dad gave us some medicine to give you," said Serena.

"He says that it'll make you feel better," added Sera as she handed him a bottle of iodine.

Dorothy was touched when she saw her best friends' daughters caring for her son. She smiled gratefully at them and thanked them.

After the medicine was applied onto his wounds, Leann, Serena and Sera asked if Leonel would want to play with them. "Of course!" was his response. "Let's go! Bye Mom!"

After the children left, Dorothy sighed contentedly. She laughed at herself when she thought about how much Leonel and her are alike. And it seems to be a coincidence that the daughters of her best friends are the best friends of her son. They stood up for him like how Julia and Rosalind stood up for her.

_Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on, _Dorothy thought. _Everyone needs a friend to help when things go bad._

**Author's Notes: Well, I hope you've enjoyed it You-Can't-Catch-Me :)**

**Here's a special song for you!**

**Happy birthday to you~**

**Happy birthday to you~**

**Happy birthday my dear friend~**

**Happy birthday to you~**

**Thank you for all the great things you've did for me ;)**


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